Texas Uncontested Divorce Laws

Respected by the Courts. Trusted by Clients. Serving Southeast Texas in Family Law Matters.

If you and your spouse have already agreed on how to divide your property, handle custody, and address support, an uncontested divorce may be within reach. It is the most efficient path through the Texas divorce process, no trial, no prolonged litigation, and a final decree you both had a hand in shaping. When the paperwork is done right, a Texas judge can sign off and your case is closed.

The agreement you have reached is a head start. What stands between that agreement and a final decree is a document that must satisfy the Texas Family Code, exactly as written, for the specific court handling your case. Scott M. Brown is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a distinction held by fewer than 1% of Texas attorneys. Multiple attorneys at our firm carry that certification. We know what judges in Brazoria County, Galveston County, Fort Bend County, and Harris County will approve, and what they will send back.

What Uncontested Divorce Means in Texas

Uncontested divorce means both spouses have reached full agreement on every issue before the court is asked to finalize anything. One unresolved issue — one — converts the case to a contested divorce. That changes the timeline, the cost, and what happens next. So it is worth being specific about what full agreement requires.

Every uncontested divorce in Texas must resolve:

Community property and debt. Texas is a community property state. Everything acquired during the marriage is presumed to belong to both of you equally. Your decree must divide it, and that division has to be just and right under the Texas Family Code. ^[4] The court will not rubber-stamp an agreement that is grossly one-sided.
Separate property. What you owned before the marriage — or received as a gift or inheritance during it — is yours alone. ^[5] Your decree still needs to account for it. Leaving separate property out of the agreement does not protect it; it creates ambiguity that can be fought over later.
Child custody (conservatorship) and possession. Texas calls custody conservatorship and the parenting schedule possession and access. Both must be spelled out in the decree. Courts start from the Standard Possession Order as the presumptive baseline. You can agree to something different — but it has to be in writing and in a form the court will approve.
Child support. Texas calculates child support using a percentage of the paying parent’s net monthly resources. Under Texas Family Code Section 154.125, the guidelines apply to net resources up to $11,700 per month — the cap that took effect September 1, 2025. ^[6] Use our 2026 Texas Child Support Calculator to get a realistic estimate before your consultation.
Spousal maintenance. Texas imposes strict eligibility requirements for spousal maintenance — including a minimum marriage length and other qualifying factors under Section 8.051 of the Texas Family Code. ^[7] If maintenance applies in your case, the amount and duration must be agreed and documented. If it does not apply, the decree should say so explicitly. Silence is not a waiver.

Once every issue is locked down, the process follows a defined sequence: file the petition, handle service or obtain a waiver, wait out the 60-day period required by law, and attend a brief final hearing. The judge reviews the decree and signs it. Your divorce is final. Our team also works with clients who still have unresolved issues to explore divorce mediation or collaborative divorce as a path to full agreement before filing.

Texas Requirements: What Has to Be True Before You File

Texas does not let you skip steps just because you agree. Every requirement below must be satisfied before the court can finalize your divorce. Filing before you meet them does not void your case — but it will delay it.

Residency. At least one spouse must have been a domiciliary of Texas for the six months before filing, and a resident of the county where you file for the 90 days before filing. ^[2] Both requirements. Both matter.
Grounds for divorce. Most uncontested cases are filed on insupportability — the marriage has become insupportable because of a conflict of personalities with no reasonable expectation of reconciliation. ^[1] No one has to prove fault. No one has to be the bad guy.
Complete agreement. Every issue must be resolved. We mean every issue. Property, debt, children, support, maintenance — all of it, addressed in writing, in language the court will accept.
60-day waiting period. Texas law prohibits a court from granting a divorce before the 60th day after the petition is filed. ^[3] Two narrow exceptions apply. The first: the respondent has been convicted of or received deferred adjudication for a family violence offense against the petitioner or a member of the petitioner’s household. The second: the petitioner holds an active protective order or emergency protection order against the respondent based on family violence committed during the marriage. For everyone else, the 60 days run.

Final hearing. Even in an uncontested case, a judge must hear the case and approve the decree. Our attorneys will tell you exactly what to expect in your specific county’s court. What happens in Brazoria County and what happens in Fort Bend County are not identical.

How Long Does an Uncontested Divorce Take in Texas?

The minimum is 61 days from the date the petition is filed. Texas law builds in a 60-day waiting period and there is no getting around it — not even when both spouses have agreed on everything and are ready to move on. ^[3]

A well-prepared uncontested divorce in Texas can be finalized in 75 to 90 days when the full agreement is locked down before filing. Cases that take longer almost always run into one of four problems:

Agreement gaps found after filing. A decree that does not address retirement accounts, real property in another state, or pending tax refunds cannot be approved as written. Fixing it after filing costs time.
County court scheduling. Brazoria County, Galveston County, and Fort Bend County courts each run their own dockets. Final hearing availability varies. We know those schedules and plan around them.
Service delays. If your spouse has not signed a waiver of service, formal service of process must be completed before the case advances. Waivers have to be signed and notarized correctly or the court will not accept them.
Retirement accounts and real property. Dividing a 401(k) or pension requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order — a separate legal document prepared after the decree is signed. Transferring a home title requires a deed recorded in the county’s real property records. Neither happens automatically.

We build agreements designed to anticipate these issues before the petition is filed. That is how you hit the front end of the timeline, not the back.

Mistakes That Derail Texas Uncontested Divorces

Thinking a handshake agreement is a legal agreement

It is not. A verbal agreement between spouses has zero legal effect. What you have agreed to means nothing until a judge signs a decree that memorializes it in the format Texas courts require. Until that moment, either party can change their mind — and some do.

Downloading a form from the internet

Generic templates are not tailored to your county, your court, or the facts of your case. Courts in Brazoria County and Fort Bend County return defective decrees regularly. A missing conservatorship designation, an incomplete property schedule, or an ambiguous support clause sends the case back and adds months. You do not save money by using a bad form. You spend it twice.

Forgetting retirement accounts

A decree that awards a spouse’s 401(k) does not actually transfer the money. A Qualified Domestic Relations Order has to be prepared, approved by the plan administrator, and entered by the court. Skip this step and the retirement account stays exactly where it is — regardless of what the decree says.

Leaving spousal maintenance unaddressed

If one spouse may qualify for maintenance under Texas Family Code Section 8.051, the agreement must address it — even if both parties agree no maintenance will be paid. ^[7] A decree that is silent on maintenance creates an open question. Courts have interpreted that silence in ways that surprised both parties. Put it in writing.

Thinking an uncontested case does not need an attorney

An attorney does not manufacture conflict. What an attorney does is make sure the agreement you have already reached survives — that it is documented correctly, that the court will approve it, and that three years from now neither party has grounds to argue it meant something different. That is not a small thing.

How Scott M. Brown & Associates Handles Uncontested Divorce in Texas

Respected by the Courts. Trusted by Clients. That is the standard we hold ourselves to in every Brazoria County, Galveston County, Fort Bend County, and Harris County courtroom we walk into. It is not a promise we make to get you through the door. It is the reputation we have built over years of results.

Scott M. Brown is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Fewer than 1% of Texas attorneys hold that certification. Multiple attorneys at our firm carry it. We are the largest law firm in Brazoria County, with offices in Angleton, Pearland, League City, and Sugar Land. When you bring us an uncontested case, you get the same preparation discipline that drives our results in contested litigation — applied to the document that will govern your property, your children, and your financial future.

We approach every case looking for the fastest, cleanest resolution that protects what you have built. We also prepare every case to withstand challenges — because documents get tested. In family law, a decree that cannot stand up does not protect anyone.

What we do on an uncontested divorce:

Full intake review. We go through every asset, every debt, every issue the decree must address. We find the ones that are easy to miss — pending tax refunds, retirement accounts in states you used to live in, business interests, real property held in an LLC. If it exists, it goes into the agreement.
Court-ready decree drafting. Every decree is written for your specific facts and for the court that will review it. We do not use templates. We do not adapt someone else’s forms. We write it right the first time.
Full filing and hearing management. We handle the petition, the service or waiver coordination, and the scheduling of your final hearing. You will not be guessing about what comes next or when.
Ancillary documents. QDROs, deeds, transfer documents — whatever is required to make the decree actually operative after signing. The decree is not the end of the work. It is the authorization to do the rest of it.

See what we have achieved for clients across Texas on our case results page. Before your consultation, request a free copy of our Divorce Book — a step-by-step guide to the Texas divorce process, available in English and Spanish.

Your Rights in a Texas Uncontested Divorce

Agreeing to a divorce does not mean agreeing to less than you are owed. You have legal rights in this process and they do not disappear because the case is uncontested. Do not sign a decree until you understand what you are getting and what you are giving up.

Right to full financial disclosure. You are entitled to know the full picture of what exists in the marital estate before you agree to anything. Concealing assets from a spouse during divorce proceedings is fraud on the community under Texas law. ^[8] If you suspect your spouse is hiding something, say so before you sign anything.
Right to your own attorney. One attorney cannot represent both spouses. Full stop. Even in a cooperative case, each party should have independent counsel reviewing the decree before signing. If only one of you is represented, the other bears every risk of what they did not know to ask.
Right to a just and right division. The court will not approve a decree it finds grossly unfair. But the court’s review has limits — it will not catch everything a skilled attorney would. Protect yourself before you get to the courthouse, not after.

Your children’s rights come first. Any custody or support arrangement must serve the best interest of the children — not just the convenience of the parents. A judge reviews agreed parenting plans independently. An agreement that does not hold up to that review will not be approved.

Questions We Hear About Uncontested Divorce in Texas

Do we both need lawyers if we already agree on everything?

Not legally required. Strongly recommended. One attorney cannot represent both of you — that is a conflict of interest, full stop. If only one of you retains counsel, the unrepresented spouse is taking on all the risk of a document they did not have reviewed on their behalf. We represent one party per case. That is how we protect the client who hired us.

Can we do an uncontested divorce if we have kids?

Yes — provided you have full agreement on conservatorship, the possession schedule, and child support. The court does not simply accept what parents have agreed to on custody and support. A judge reviews the parenting plan independently against the best interest standard. We draft parenting plans that pass that review.

What happens if my spouse changes their mind after we file?

The case becomes contested and we handle it as one. Texas law does not lock either party into an agreement just because a petition was filed. If the agreement unravels, we are already in the case and ready to move. You are not starting over.

Is there any way to skip the 60-day waiting period?

In practice, no — not for an uncontested divorce. Texas Family Code Section 6.702 allows a court to waive the waiting period only where the respondent has been convicted of or received deferred adjudication for a family violence offense against the petitioner or a household member, or where the petitioner has an active protective order or emergency protection order based on family violence during the marriage. ^[3] If neither condition applies, the 60 days run.

How is community property divided if we cannot agree on value?

If valuation is disputed, you are no longer fully uncontested. Property division has to be just and right under Texas law. [4] When the parties cannot agree on what something is worth — a business, a pension, a piece of real estate — the case typically requires professional valuation and, if the parties still cannot agree, litigation. We handle that too.

What does an uncontested divorce cost in Texas?

Our attorney fees depend on the complexity of the marital estate, whether children are involved, and whether ancillary documents like a QDRO are needed. Court filing fees in Brazoria County and surrounding counties often run $250 to $350. Contact our office for a consultation — we can give you a straight answer about your specific situation.

Where can I learn about the Texas divorce process before I call?

We offer a free Divorce Book that walks through the Texas divorce process step by step. Request your copy at sbrownlawyer.com/divorce-book. Available in English and Spanish. It is not a substitute for a consultation, but it will help you arrive at one prepared.